If
we captured Karen soldiers we never kept them alive. We killed them. The NCOs
didn't even interrogate them, they just said, 'Pray to your God' and killed
them with a bayonet, then beheaded them. Then sometimes they fried their heart
and liver and ate it. I saw Corporal Aung Myint do
this. This was done often by the sergeants, warrant officers and sometimes
company commanders. The company commander gave the order to kill the prisoners,
and got the officers or NCOs under him to do it. Once we found a wounded Karen
soldier and they stepped on his throat to kill him. Other times they killed
wounded Karen soldiers with a bayonet. I saw several Karen soldiers executed like
this, and also villagers with connections to the KNLA. If they suspected any
villagers of being in contact with the KNLA they summoned them, and they never
used a gun just a bayonet. Usually the lance corporals and corporals did it,
sometimes the sergeants. They had no real evidenceif they didn't like the look of a
civilian they'd just accuse him of being connected to the KNLA and kill him.

—
Zaw Myint,
Burma
Army deserter, KHRG interview, 7 August 1994

While military tribunals
are no longer handing out death sentences on civilians, the number of
executions in Burma has not decreased. Most
incidents show a tendency for executions through forced portering which
involved human mine-sweeping and acting as human shields in combat zones.
Porters also have been severely beaten and not fed enough food, being left
along the wayside. Victims of summary executions are in many cases villagers
who are accused of being involved with insurgency groups despite the lack of
evidence. Women are commonly killed by soldiers after being raped,
for fear that the victims of these double crimes will report the sexual
assaults.

Arbitrary executions take
place anywhere and at any time, by military leaders as well as rank and file. People who run from the military – even in cities – out of
fear of being forced into portering, are routinely shot at without regard for
their lives. This sort of recklessness brings back memories of the 3,000-10,000
pro-democracy demonstrators murdered by army troops since 1988. Recent
arbitrary executions also include prisoners being tortured to death while in
custody, beatings, denial of adequate food and medical care, and subhuman
conditions in prisons. Executions of all kinds have focused particularly on
ethnic peoples, in most cases only because of their ethnic backgrounds. For
instance, as many as 300 Muslims have been killed by SLORC since January while
another 3,000 were imprisoned and subjected to those life-threatening
conditions. True numbers of deaths may never be known, but one fact remains clear;
civilian death by execution is commonplace throughout Burma by the military.

On 31
December 1993,
in PawAutawVillage, KyaukKyiTownship, Pegu Division, IB 60
commanded by Capt NyiSoe
under Southern Command, arrested Saw Ther Toe (son of
Saw Tin Shwe) and accused him of being a KNU sympathiser. The soldiers tied him
up, stabbed his arms and legs with knives, burned out both his eyes and dragged
him through the streets of the village. They kept him alive until 6
January 1994,
when they executed him. [source: KNU]

On 16 January, a company of
SLORC troops led by Hla Tun of IB 506 and a faction
of the Shan State Army, which defected to SLORC and was led by SaiNorng, arrived in NorngSien Village, arrested Sai Su (male, 38), headman of TorngTeik Parish, Hsipaw
Township in northern Shan State. The victim was accused of sending information
to the rebels in that area. After conducting an interrogation with torture, he
was killed by Ai Thun (Kha
Tong) of the SSA. Soldiers then ransacked the victim's house, took 25,000 Ks in
cash and other property and destroyed one image of Lord Buddha by chopping the
statue into pieces. [source: SHRF]

On 12 January, SLORC troops
from IB 246 shot to death SaiSengHarn (male, 24) from No. 1 Quarter of Kun Hein
Township in southern ShanState without warrant. This
occurred in the southern part of the town while the troops were patrolling the
area. [source: SHRF]

On 24
January, 40
soldiers of IB 39, commanded by Capt Mya Shwe, opened fire on a group of cattle
traders driving their herds near Kyautager and Maw Khee villages in Taungoo
District. One of the traders was killed while 26 cattle were ransacked by SLORC
troops. [source: KNU]

On 19 February, Sai Be (30, son of U Lon Ann and Daw Mai) from Ma KhaeKham Village in Lwe Paw Parish, HpeKhonTownship, was arrested by IB 336
led by DepBn Comdr Chit Than with the accusation of possessing of illegal firearms.
The victim was beaten at HpeKhon
military outpost and on 22 February he was brought by the military column to Lwe Paw. On that day, Maung Pa Loke
(25, son of U Ho Lwa and Daw MuLarong, from UpperKarenTikeVillage, HpeKhonTownship) was also arrested with
the same allegation. On 24 February, both of them were tied up under Lwe Paw Monastery, punched, beaten with rifle butts, jumped
up and down on abdomen and stroked with rocks at the back. Both of them were
beaten to death on the hill-top located in the eastern part of the village and
buried together.

Death in Custody

29-year old Yan Gyi Aung from No. 4, Zee
Taw Quarter, Pa-an Township, KarenState, had
fled to the KNU headquarters soon after the coup in 1988. The following year he
decided to return to Burma, or the “legal fold”, as SLORC puts it. Yan
Gyi Aung was promptly arrested and sentenced to the death penalty by a military
tribunal before the 1990 election. Buddhist monks in KarenState appealed
to the court and his sentenced was reduced to life imprisonment. In March 1994,
the victim died of cholera after receiving no medical treatment while in
prison.

On 2 March, PvtSoe Moe Naing from SLORC
military 1st Column led by Warrant Officer Ngwe Maung
of LIB 341, shot Ma Mi Nge (16, daughter of U BaPe and Daw Nu from Kyun Pin Village, Papun Township, Karen State) with his
BA-63 rifle, hitting her on the left side of the chest which caused death. This
occurred when the perpetrator tried to rape the victim at gunpoint and, when
the victim refused and attempted to defend herself,
the perpetrator killed her. When Coy Comdr Capt TuLun and his troops reached the village, they reported that
this was a case of an accidental shooting that resulted while Soe Moe Naing was hunting wild poultry. The captain
threatened the villagers that those who attempted to degrade the dignity of the
armed forces will be shot to death. In fear of their safety, the parents of the
victim and other villagers dared not raise the case. [source:
ABSDF]

The Ultimate Result of SLORC
Presence: Torture, Death, Fear and Displacement

On 3 March, soldiers from IB 35, based in Kyauk
Kyi, entered Paw MuDer Village. It has 24 houses, 143 people. It is only a
one-hour walk from the Say Day Camp of SLORC IB 59 based in Kyauk
Kyi. On 3 March, 2nd Column of that IB 59 led by Column Comdr Maj Aung San Oo came to the village. As soon as the
villagers knew they were there they tried to escape to the jungle, without
being able to take anything with them. SLORC troops captured 20 people who did
not know how to escape, particularly women and children, including Saw Ghay (male, 35) and his 3-year old daughter. Saw Ghay's wife was very sick but still managed to escape with their another child, an 18-month old son. Saw Ghay's sister-in-law was hiding in another house, and saw
the soldiers drag Saw Ghay away from the others. In
addition, there were arrested a total of 19 villagers – 2 men, 7 women, and 10
children. Then the soldiers took all the villagers' belongings from every
house. They stayed there for 2 days and then released everyone except Saw Ghay.

They found a photo in Saw Gay’s house showing a man in a Karen
uniform, so they accused Saw Gay of having a relative in the Karen army and
ordered him to explain. Afterwards they took him cut off his arms and legs.
They left him bleeding on the ground for 2 hours, but he was still not quite
dead so they cut off his penis, then cut open his belly and ripped out his
internal organs. Saw Gay’s brother is in the Karen army, but Saw Gay himself
was just an innocent villager.

Naw Lay Swai, age 75, was reportedly kept tied naked to a tree.
When the troops left the village, they took with them 40 pigs, 38 goats and all
the villagers’ chickens and ducks; whatever the soldiers couldn't carry away
with them were destroyed. Since then many of the people in the village have fled
to Karen-controlled areas closer to the Thai border.

The troops stayed in the village for three days. Afterwards they
returned to their camp and reported to their higher authorities that they had
taken a Karen position in battle, captured and executed a Karen soldier, and
that the property they'd collected was from the Karen base [this was reported
to the villagers by one of the soldiers; also note that Saw Ghay
was not a Karen soldier]. Now the villagers dare not stay in Paw MuhDer Village anymore, so they've
moved to another place where there is not fertile enough for growing crops. [source: KNU]

On 10 March, 2nd Column of
LIB 59 Comdr Aung San Oo came to ThayBawVillage and shot and killed
villager Saw SoeGhayHtoo (35, son of Saw K'Bweh).
After shooting him, they stabbed his body all over with a knife and then left
it behind. Then on 18 March the same troops went to ThuDayVillage and shot dead villager Saw
Ko Pa Moo (30, son of Saw PlahHeh); just as they had done in ThayBawVillage, they then stabbed his
body all over with a knife before leaving the corpse lying there.

On 17 March, Column Comdr
Ah Tin and Coy Comdr MyatSoe
of SLORC IB 37 opened fire on the villagers from Ko Kyaw KawSoo Village, Nyaunglebin District, while they were
collecting firewood. Five villagers were gunned down with the result that 1
person died.

On 18 March, 2nd Column of
IB 59 led by Column Comdr Maj Aung San Oo went to ThuDayVillage, PapunTownship, KarenState, and shot dead Saw Ko Pa Moo (30, son of Saw PlahHeh). Then the troops again committed the same violations
as they did to the victim's body in ThayBawVillage (above).

Rohingya Muslim Fishermen Executed

On 24 March, members of the Burmese military's Western Military
Command patrolling the NafRiver found a
group of Rohingya Muslims fishing from a small country boat. The soldiers tried
to extort money from the fishermen, but when they were unable to do so, tied
them up with rope and brought them to BaluKhaliVillage in MaungdawTownship.

Eight of the Rohingya fishermen were interrogated and tortured for
five days; although it is not known what statements the arrested Muslims had
given to their torturers, the Na Sa Ka in-charge ordered to shoot all the
arrested persons and accordingly, on 31 March at about 4:30 p.m., all of them
were brought out of the camp with their hands tied behind their backs and they
were made to stand in a row. Subsequently, they were all shot by firing squad.
Persons who were killed without any trial and at the order of Na Sa Ka in-charge, Balukhali are:

It is to be reported further that the Muslim villagers of nearby
villages who have contact with the Na Sa Ka concerned had earlier approached
the officials with a request that the arrested persons were poor fishermen and
did not have any bad record in their villages and should be released. However,
the in-charge reportedly warned the villagers not to make any further request
and went ahead with his decision to execute the fishermen.

The people of north Arakan have long been targets of whimsical
killing by military officers. If villagers report the crime to higher officers,
no charges of arrests are made. This particular incident, carried out despite
the presence of UNHCR officials in Maungdaw,
indicates that SLORC will not easily stop these types of persecution against
the Muslims of Arakan. [source: MOA]

On 30 March, SLORC troops
from IB 73 abducted 2 village headmen from Lay Ti and Nat Ywa
villages of Taungoo District, and the victims were
beaten to death.

On 28 April, SLORC troops
from IB 96 came to PawGheeKheeVillage, Thaton
District, and shot Pa Kloh (26, son of Thaw Pee) to
death. They also shot Saw Ger Ker (20) who was
wounded in the arm and also suffered a broken leg.

On 12 May, SLORC troops
from LID 55 plundered and murdered in WornmaiKoong-teeVillage, Worn Norng
Parish, MongNaiTownship, southernShanState. Financial losses suffered
were cattle, pigs and chickens owned by PorKeik (20,130 Ks stolen), Mae Sala
(16,500 Ks) and Pi Seng (200 Ks). PorSala (male, 56) and Por Ni-ong (male, 41) were both shot to death without explanation
by soldiers who then tried to hide their corpses in the east of Koong Na-long. [source: SHRF]

On 23 May at 5:00 p.m.,
SLORC troops from Coy 1 of IB 22, led by Coy Comdr Capt Khin Soe, arrested Sai Aung Mong (25,
son of Lung Tsam Pa and Pa Nang
Pin), of Shan nationality, living in Worn PungLaing Village, Hsipaw Township,
while the victim was working on Ye Yoke Farm. He was interrogated, tortured and
beaten to death. [source: SHRF]

On 30 May, Thai police in
Thom Papum, KanchanaburiProvince, stopped a bus coming from
Kanchanaburi at Kyan Daw,
near Thom Papum, Thailand, arresting
any and all Tavoyans on the bus and detaining them at
the station there. Police seized all the valuables of the detainees, who were
on their way back to Burma after working in Thailand. On 1 June at 8:00 a.m.,
one of the detainees, namely Soe Win (24), gave a
100-Baht banknote to one policeman at the station and asked him to buy cheroots
for him. While the victim was smoking, another policeman came in and beat Soe Win to death with a baton. [source:
ABSDF]

In June 1994, SLORC troops
commanded by MajSoeHlaing from IB 73 came to Say Pa Let Village, captured U Aw
Htoo (55) and asked him where his son was. U Aw Htoo said his son had gone trading, but they didn’t believe
him so MajSoeHlaing took U Aw Htoo and
detained him for 1 month in the military barracks. When his son had still not
appeared after that time, U Aw Htoo was executed.

In
mid-June 1994.Laydoo (30, son of Jalal
Ahmed), Mohammed Siddique (35, son of Fazal Ahmed), Mohammed Tayub (30,
son of Shafif) and Abdul Jabbar
(45), from Barigya-bil in MaungdawTownship, ArakanState, were tortured to death in
the river by the SLORC troops. [MOA]

On 20 June, combined troops
from IB 32 led by Maj Tun Yee, under the command of
LID 33, and IB 36 led by Column Comdr Thein Zaw, went
into Papun area, razed Phoe Tha Nge's
house to the ground and shot Than Aung, PhoeHtaw and Saw Win to death.

On 10 July, four Pilatus PC-7s flew out of Kengtung,
ShanState, and intentionally
attacked a defenceless Ban Akha Village of Akha people in Tachilek. The
planes dropped eight 80-lb bombs on the village, fired rockets and strafed the
village with 30mm guns. In Ban Akhu two boys (ages 7
and 14) were killed while they were playing outside and 5 others were wounded.
The back of one child's head was blown off while the other boy was mortally
wounded. Several other villages also had to abandon because of SLORC air raids.
[source: SHRF]

On 5 August, AIG soldiers
and troops from IB 96 came to ShweYawPyaVillage, Thaton
District, and called out Saw KoMyint
(37, son of Thaung Shwe). They asked him where the
KNLA troops are and also ordered him to find them some guns. Saw Ko Myint didn’t know where to find any guns for them, so the
troops demanded money from him. He had no money, so they killed him. [source: KYO]

On 18 August, Tsai Hla-thay, a Shan farmer, was executed by IB 246. He was
among several people captured to carry ammunition and supplies for SLORC
columns moving between Laikha and Kun Hing. Unable to carry the heavy loads any more, he was shot
to death by an unnamed soldier. Another porter in the same group, Tsai Tsaam Mya, attempted to escape but was caught and beaten
severely with sticks. [source: SHRF]

On 22 August, SLORC troops
from LIB 408 arrested U Shay (56), a bus comptroller from Ah Lae Sa Khan Village, Ye Phyu
Township, at his home and brought him to the headquarters of LIB 408 in PaukpinkwinVillage. He was accused of having
contacts with the rebels and passing information to them. The victim’s ears
were cut off, nails were driven through his hands and legs, and then his tongue
was cut out. He was finally killed by driving nails into the crown of his head.

Sometime during the first
week of September 1994, Noor Mohammed (about 45, son
of Fakir Bakker), hailing from Myothugyi
Village, 3 miles east of Maungdaw Township, Arakan
State, was carrying some food items from Buthidaung
Township. His bicycle was stopped for a routine check at a 3-mile outpost by Na
Sa Ka forces. After searching, the official not only
seized a small rice bag he was carrying but he was also beaten up for carrying
objectionable goods. At this Noor Mohammed lost
control of his temper and resisted the in-charge, reportedly called Thet Naing and belonging to MIS Unit 10. Under the
circumstances, the in-charge became furious and went for his pistol. Perceiving
the danger, Noor Mohammed ran for his life and took
refuge in an under construction building of the UNHCR but the 15 security
forces of the 3-mile outpost who were after him finally caught their intended,
only to be punished with summary death. His dead body was later handed over to
his family members for burial. [source: MOA]

On 7 September, the camp
commander of SLORC’s BaNweKla Camp ordered 2 villagers from NawHtooDayVillage to deliver a letter to the
commanders of Coy 4 of IB 24 at Kwi Lay Doh Camp. When they arrived there, soldiers shot one of
them dead and the other villager was ordered to enter the camp. The camp
commander told him that his friend had been shot for not showing the commander
“proper respect”. The villager who was shot dead was Saw Pa Kwee
(57) from NawHtooDayVillage.

Villagers Who Flee Forced Porterage
Are Tortured and Murdered

On 11 September at 8 p.m., Coy 1 of IB 27 under LID 33, Bn Comdr Chit Thaung,
Second-in-Command Zaw Myint, Coy 1 Comdr Capt Win
Tint, entered Kru See Village (Burmese: Kyaun Sein Village). All the villagers ran away because
they were afraid to be taken as porters. The company opened fire.

Tee Toh Po, a 38-year-old Karen Buddhist
farmer of KruSeeVillage, was hit in the leg by a bullet. The bone of his left lower leg was
broken, but the managed to escape even though wounded. Maung Than
Oo (26, son of Tee Der Day, married with 2 children)
was hit in the jaw by a bullet during the shooting and died on the evening of
11 September. Three other men were captured by the SLORC soldiers, and all of
them were executed at 4
a.m. on 12 September. The victims were Moo
Ko (21, son of Maung San Win, unmarried), Ko Naing (23, son of U ThanNgwe, unmarried) and Thein Win (18, son of U Aung Shwe, unmarried). All of these
men were Karen Buddhist farmers from KruSeeVillage.

The villagers never recovered Maung ThanOo's body, but the other three were found. Moo Ko had been stabbed with a knife in his throat. His entire
body had been broken all over – it was black, and the villagers could barely
recognise him. Ko Naing's nose had been cut off and
he had been stabbed in the eyes and in both of his ears. His body had also been
broken all over and it was black. Thein Win had had
all his teeth broken and his left arm was broken. The left side of his face had
been cut with a knife, and his body had also been broken all over.

While the soldiers were in the village, they also looted all of the
villagers' belonging from their homes: clothes, rice, pots, etc. They also took
and ate all the chickens, fruit and vegetables they wanted. The village headman
begged the company commander, Capt Win Tint, to release the four villagers, but
he was beaten up and couldn't dare ask again. One of the four killed, Moo Ko, was
the village headman's son. On 12 September at noon, the
villagers returned and found the bodies, then prepared them for cremation.
After the bodies were found the human rights monitor attempted to interview the
mother of one of the four killed, but she could only cry and say "On my
misfortune... my youngest son is dead... misfortune... my son is dead..."
again and again. [source: KHRG]

The Burmese military forces
military patrolling south of Buthidaung Township
entered Saubrang Village on 18 September and took
away MoulviDilMonammed (25), alleging that he had been associated with
anti-state elements. He was later shot dead without any trial. [source: MOA]

The same group of Burmese
military forces who patrol south of ButhidaungTownship again entered SaubrangVillage on 20 September and
arrested one Mohammed Ayub (23, son of Mohammed) and
Mohammed Anwar (22, son of Moulvi
Abu Bakker) without assigning any reason. Later, the
two youths were inhumanely tortured and subsequently shot dead. [source: MOA]

On 31 October, four army
personnel including one sergeant belonging to the 525th Burma Regiment,
stationed at Aung Mingala outpost entered the house
of Ma Nu Begum (25, wife of Qarim) at HeadmanparaVillage and attempted to rape her.
She resisted and the soldiers retreated. Having exasperated at their failed
mission, the soldiers on their return to camp met Jalal
Ahmed (about 12, son of Haffiz Ahmed) hailing from Chowdurya and the boy was beaten to death. Not satisfied
with this, they killed MahammedHussain
(60, son of Fetan Ali) from RwanmagoneVillage, ButhidaungTownship. The man was firstly
tortured and later his head was disfigured due to severe strikes with a wooden
bar. Mohammed Hussain was killed while he was working
in his farmland for growing vegetables. [source: MOA]

About 100 SLORC troops from
Shwe Kyin-based IB 351 led by Deputy Bn Comdr Lt Col Kyaw Kyaw,
penetrated into villages located north of Shwe Kyin
and committed torture and killings of innocent villagers on 20 November. That
military column arrested U Saw Bi (58) from ShweKyinTownship, Pegu Division, while he
was working on his farm in PadeGaw Parish, near a church in SweDeinVillage. At that time he was on
his way to church for worship services, when SLORC troops accused him of having
contact with the rebels. Although U Saw Bi said that he was only an innocent
farmer and had not known anything about their question, the Deputy Bn Comdr brought U Saw Bi, who was tied up at that time, to
a nearby monastery in Shan Su Village and forced the victim to dig an earthen
pit. Then the deputy commander himself stabbed one stroke each on both sides of
the victim's neck with a bayonet and fired into his abdomen with a 9mm pistol. Then buried the victim in the newly-dug pit at approximately 8:30 p.m. on 21 November. He left behind his wife
Daw NawKhuHae and six children. [NLD-LA]

On 18 December, companies
from SLORC LIB 351 patrolled the area in ShweKyinTownship, Pegu Division. At 11:45
a.m.,
when they arrived old TaiPinVillage, located north of ShweKyinTownship, without asking anything,
they opened fire on the villagers from Shan Su Village who were on their way to
cut bamboo for their household use. Ko HlaMyint (35, husband of Ma Pu) was
hit by three G-3 bullets and killed. SLORC troops took away a sarong and a bag
in which was carried money. Other villagers escaped. [source:
NLD-LA]

On 22 December, SLORC
troops from LIB 351 shot Maung Zaw Naing Oo (son of U Kyaw Hlaing)
and other 5 people from Ma Bee Lay Village near KawHtawKaloeRiver, ShweKyinTownship. Maung Zaw Naing Oo was
hit 2 shot at the chest and found dead the following morning at a place 3
furlongs from where the incident occurred. [source:
NLD-LA]

On 29 December at 11:00
p.m.,
SLORC troops from IB 73 threw a grenade into a crowd while they were holding a
religious ceremony in InGyinKoe Village, HtantabinTownship, Pegu
Division, causing the deaths of 10 villagers and wounding 24 others. [PDC]

On 31 December, Saw LarNoe (20, son of Tee Kyaw Moe)
from TarBawKheeVillage, ThatonTownship, MonState, was shot dead without any
reason by SLORC troops from IB 119. [PDC]